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Friday, February 27

A little while ago (here) I wrote of the dramas I was experiencing getting my darling eight year old to go to sleep. Well I thought that should give you an update of how things have progressed.

Before I go any further I must say that it is with great caution that I share the following with you. There are a few reasons for this.

The first is that I never really wanted this blog to be a recount of my life. I am not sure what I wanted it to be but I didn't think my life as such could be that interesting. Turns out that there is a chance it is.

My second reason is...actually I've forgotten. As I try to write this I am having two different chats, watching a movie and trying to find some decent cards in PackRat. To say I am slightly distracted is an understatement. So I guess it is no wonder I am having difficulty keeping track of my thoughts. Since I fail to recall what my second reason was I am now going to go with the notion that it was never really of much importance in the first place.

So nearly six weeks later (perhaps even more, time is not really one of my strong points) I am pleased to say that I appear to have possibly overcome my daughter's sleeping issues. Something I am sure many of you can understand. I may have spent many years thinking I was the only parent to struggle with getting children to go to sleep but recent times have helped me realise it is more than just a common parental difficulty.

How did I possibly manage such success I hear many of you cry? Well I must say that at the end of the day it was really quite easy.

All it really took was consistency, commitment and not taking any crap.

On the whole it sounds rather easy but if you are anything like myself the above can be easier said than done! Having said that though I am very proud to announce that I have successfully established a working bedtime routine with my darling 8yr old angel. Granted it is possibly a little later than what it should be but there are no tears, no arguments and everyone is left with that warm fuzzy feeling so that is really all that counts. She is asleep within 10 minutes of me leaving the room and I don't have to spend half my evening cohersing her to go to sleep.

I take her to bed, tuck her in (with special toy), sing song (What a Wonderful World), give her a kiss and say; "Sweet dreams, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite, see you in the morning light, happy and bright nighty night, I love you". Then depending on the time, lay with her and how I am feeling for between one to ten minutes. Somewhere in between it all I rub her back and face and sometimes even her arms and legs (the latter only if she has been behaving beautifully)

For me sleeping has never been an issue. I have always been able to send myself off into a deep sleep whenever I need to. Regardless of the time of day, I can make my body sleep. Even if only for 15 minutes.

Until I had children and a husband I never really realised what a gift this was, it was something I just assumed everybody could do. For years I thought that this was just the way that everybody operated but I have since discovered it is more a skill than natural ability. It appears however that nature must have some part to play as my youngest has been able to put herself to sleep as much as what I can. Thankfully my eldest seems now to be learning the ways also.

For those of you who recall the start of my post... well I have just remembered my second reason for not sharing this info earlier... I didn't want to tempt fate! I was worried that if fate heard me bragging about my success she might send me a few more difficulties to see if I could cope. So shhhh this is our secret don't tell her!

Saturday, February 21

Part of me feels it has been much longer, while another part struggles to think it has not been very long at all. Either it is still not exactly what you could call regular. Mind you if you were a regular reader I am sure this post would seem pretty average as it is the start of most of my posts (when ever I manage to get them up!)

Where have I been? What have I been doing? I hear you all cry. I wish that I could say I have been jet setting around the countryside or sailing the high seas but sadly that is not the case, no exciting adventures to report back with. In fact there are not even any boring ones! None the less I do have a beautiful story to share. In fact this experience has touched me so much I tried to create something new.

So what happened?

Well firstly my Dad, thought he was having a stroke so he called an ambulance. He rang me also to let me know what was going on. Did I mention that this was at 1.30am? No? Well it was. Anyway I went to his house and then followed the ambulance to the hospital. As it turned out they didn't believe there was any cause for concern but given his age, and medical history it wasn't worth the risk.

Once I was sure that Dad was all comfortably settled I headed home (even I need some sleep). As I headed out the hospital doors two women asked me if I could give them a ride home. Naturally I agreed. No one leaving the hospital in the early hours of the morning is ever having a great time and it was still another four or so hours till the first bus would be. It was the least I could do really. I have been chemically designed so that when I am at my lowest I feel inclined to help so all in all it was a winning situation all round.

While my father was not having a stroke it did turn out that he had an infection and needed medical treatment. Which also meant that he would be staying in hospital for a few days. Thankfully the hospital is fairly nearby. On one of my visits though I locked my keys in the car. Which is strange in more than one way. You see I rarely lock my car. Why I did on this day I am not really sure.

Cutting right to the chase. (I know I can ramble on a times and I fear that I was about to start!

A beautiful person, no angel, stopped and offered to drive me home to get some spare keys to solve my problem! When she pulled up and offered I nearly fell over. I couldn't believe that such kindness existed, but I assure you it does.